Bystanders Shot at Empire State Building Were Hit by Police

By

Ted Mann,

Tamer El-Ghobashy and

Danny Gold

Updated Aug. 25, 2012 10:45 p.m. ET

The man accused of gunning down a former colleague Friday morning near the Empire State Building never fired his gun at police before they shot him dead on a crowded street, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Saturday.

ENLARGE

A policeman covers his mouth while speaking into a phone at the scene of a shooting near the Empire State Building in New York on Friday.
Reuters

The gunman, Jeffrey Johnson, 58 years old, drew his weapon after being confronted by two officers just outside the landmark building on Fifth Avenue at 34th Street but was shot before he could fire, Mr. Kelly said. The officers fired more than 16 rounds, striking the gunman at least seven times, authorities said.

Police also confirmed Saturday that all nine bystanders wounded in the incident were injured by bullets fired by the police, not Mr. Johnson.

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The New York Police Department released a video of Jeffrey Johnson walking near the Empire State Building on Friday as he is confronted by police officers after he allegedly killed a former colleague. Police Comm. Ray Kelly said when Mr. Johnson took out his gun and pointed it at officers they fired a total of more than 16 rounds, striking Mr. Johnson and killing him.

Of the nine, three were hit directly by police bullets while six were injured by bullet fragments that ricocheted off of concrete, either pavement or planters that were present at the shooting scene.

Three people remain hospitalized in stable condition, Mr. Kelly said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Mr. Kelly have defended the officers' actions, saying they had no choice except to shoot Mr. Johnson.

The chaotic scene unfolded about 9 a.m. Friday when Mr. Johnson, a laid-off clothing designer, allegedly fatally shot Steven Ercolino, a sales executive, outside their firm on West 33rd Street, Hazan Import. Corp. He then walked east about a half-a-block toward the front of the Empire State Building, where he was approached by two officers, authorities said. Surveillance video showed Mr. Johnson pulled a handgun from a black bag and raised it toward the officers before they opened fire.

A tally of the shell casings at the scene found that Mr. Johnson didn't appear to have fired his 45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, Mr. Kelly said. One round was found in the magazine while a second was ejected from the chamber by officers who recovered the handgun - a typical precaution taken by police when a weapon is secured, Mr. Kelly said.

"The gun was not fired" at police, Mr. Kelly said.

Photos: Shooting Near the Empire State Building

One officer involved in the shooting Friday fired nine times, while the other fired seven times. A preliminary investigation showed Mr. Johnson was struck at least seven times, police said. His body sustained ten bullet wounds, three of which are believed to be exit wounds. The city medical examiner will make the final determination on his cause of death, officials said.

The department is still analyzing the events that led up to the brazen rush-hour slaying, along with the officers' response. It was the second time in two weeks that police fired on and killed an armed suspect in the tourist-crowded streets of Midtown. In a shooting on Aug. 11 in Times Square, police fatally shot a man who had lunged at officers with a cooking knife. No bystanders were harmed in that incident.

Speaking to reporters Saturday in Warwick, N.Y., Mr. Ercolino's eldest brother, Paul, said the family is in mourning.

"He was the person that everyone came to," Paul Ercolino said of his brother. "He was the guy who would light up a room when he came in. If my son needed something, boom, he would have it for him. He would do something for anyone."

The family called Steven Ercolino "Uncle Ducky," his brother said, remembering him as a devoted sports fan and a doting uncle.

Mr. Ercolino's parents were in New York City Saturday to claim their son's body, he said. No funeral arrangements have been made.

Mr. Ercolino had never mentioned his workplace tension with Mr. Johnson to his family, his brother said.

"It was a sick thing that happened," he said, repeatedly breaking into tears. "It's just devastation."

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